President Irfaan Ali has urged accountants across the Caribbean to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), climate finance and data-driven decision-making, declaring that the profession must evolve or risk becoming obsolete. Yet while the vision mirrors global trends, it also exposes a familiar gap between ambition and Guyana’s on-the-ground realities.

Addressing more than 300 delegates Friday at the opening of the 43rd Annual Conference of the Inter-American Accounting Association (ICAC), President Ali said accountants can no longer limit themselves to preparing financial statements and balancing books.

Instead, he argued, they must become strategic advisers capable of interpreting AI-generated data, shaping public policy and developing innovative financing models to meet emerging economic and environmental challenges.